Letter to Doug Ducey, Governor of Arizona - Kelly, Sinema Call For Authorization of Arizona National Guard to Assist Arizona Hospitals Experiencing Staffing Shortages due to Omicron Variant

Letter

Dear Governor Ducey:

We urge you to utilize all the resources available to you to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,
including the activation of the Arizona National Guard in a Title 32 capacity to perform
wraparound and other critical services at hospitals and other care facilities. Hospital systems,
health care facilities, and those caring for Arizona's most vulnerable populations are suffering
from severe staffing shortages. This endangers their ability to care for Arizonans, worsening
people's health outcomes, increasing costs, and putting lives and livelihoods at risk. We ask that
Arizona take full advantage of all available resources, including the 100 percent federal
reimbursement provided through April 1, 2022 for National Guard activities in response to
COVID-19.

On January 14, 2022, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized Title 32
National Guard resources to be deployed to provide wraparound services at primary medical care
facilities. Wraparound services can include activities such as transport, biomedical waste
removal, food preparation and delivery, perimeter fencing, professional cleaning, contracted
security services, and other critical services necessary to keep health care facilities operating
safely and securely. Such deployment of National Guard personnel is authorized when:
* COVID-19 creates staffing shortages at primary medical care facilities for critical
wraparound services;
* the primary medical care facility is unable to address the staffing shortage itself in a
timely and efficient manner; and
* the shortage impairs the ability of the primary medical care facility to provide
wraparound services to such a degree that the primary medical care facility's ability to
adequately provide COVID-19 medical care is at a high enough risk of failure as to
constitute an immediate threat to the public health and safety.

In addition to critical wraparound services, we urge you to continue to work with stakeholders
across the state to appropriately deploy National Guard and other resources necessary to keep
Arizonans safe and secure. We applaud all National Guard personnel who have assisted in
Arizona's COVID-19 response effort, assisting with vaccine distribution, supporting direct
patient care, distributing food and personal protective equipment (PPE), and bolstering contact
tracing and testing. We stand ready to assist in the state's pandemic efforts and look forward to
your response.

Sincerely,

Source